Braves need a closer as postseason approaches

John Fricke: "Your best closer over the weekend was Charlie Culberson"

The good news: The Atlanta Braves are still in first place in the NL East, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The bad news: They got swept by the Colorado Rockies in a 4-game series over the weekend.

Dansby Swanson committed an error that led to Thursday's loss. Starting pitcher Sean Newcomb struggled on the mound in Friday's lopsided loss. But the real concern this season has been with the Braves bullpen. And closer A.J. Minter blowing a three-run lead on Saturday doesn't ease any of those concerns.

"That was a bad look this weekend," said John Fricke. "[Braves> blew two of those games. The game on Saturday was an utter disaster. [Reliever> AJ Minter apologized, but you're ahead 3-0 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th and you lose the game?"

Minter took ownership over the bad outing calling his performance "pathetic:"

"Throw it down the middle and they're gonna make you pay for it. That's Major League Baseball."@Braves reliever A.J. Minter on what went wrong in the ninth inning. pic.twitter.com/b0NPP1zPEK